U.S. to continue intense military cooperation with Georgia

The U.S. will continue its intense cooperation with Georgia in the military sphere, the U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Sept.7.

He made the remarks after the meeting with Georgia's Defense Minister Irakli Alasania.

"We discussed the intensification of the military cooperation and agreed on our future plans. Our partnership is of great importance and we will continue this in the future as well," Hagel stressed.

He emphasized the significance of the NATO substantial package of cooperation for Georgia, adding that it will allow to strengthen the relations with NATO countries and bring its armed forces to conformity with the alliance's requirements.

"We pledge to assist Georgia in implementing this package. We are ready to assist Georgia not only in the bilateral format, but also in the NATO format," the U.S. defense secretary added.

Alasania, for his part, pointed out that the regional security issues and the threats facing Georgia were also discussed during the meeting.

"We discussed the possibility of responding these threats and preventive measures," he added.

Hagel thanked Georgia for its participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and expressed support to the country which decided to continue the program for training the Afghan army under the Resolute Support project.

Alasania also expressed gratitude to the U.S. for providing the treatment and rehabilitation of Georgian servicemen who got injured during the mission in Afghanistan.